♫ And we will never be royals
♫ Royals
♫ Royals royals royals royals ♫
- Sell crazy someplace else.
We're all stocked up here.
- Absolute power and mental illness
make a strikingly bad combination.
Unfortunately though, they often go hand in hand.
Am I right Game of Thrones fans?
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Charles VI of France had a couple of monikers.
Charles the Beloved
and Charles the Mad.
So how'd he go from one to the other?
During a military expedition in 1392,
Charles had his first episode where he came to believe
that he was being set upon by enemies,
and killed several of his own entourage in confusion.
Womp womp.
After that he underwent periodic episodes of madness
for the rest of his life.
According to one story he became convinced
that his body was made of glass,
and demanded iron reinforced clothing
to protect himself from being shattered.
It's probably because of the kids.
They called him Mr. Glass.
(ambient music)
The Byzantine emperor Justin II came to the throne
of the Eastern Roman Empire in 565 CE,
and remained ruler if only in name until his death in 578.
During the early years of his rule,
Justin seemed to be responsible and relatively tolerant,
but in the 570s he apparently went insane.
During the later years of his life
he was said to bite his chamberlains
and attempt to hurl himself out of windows.
Ultimately, he had to be pacified with wagon rides
accompanied by organ music.
Oh Justin.
(ambient music)
Christian VII of Denmark stayed on the throne
from 1767 until he died in 1808.
But for a lot of that time he wasn't the real power
behind the Danish state.
Christian experienced paranoia, hellucinations,
mood swings and bouts of self mutilation.
Over time, Christian's trusted physician
Johann Friedrich Struensee assumed a great amount
of power for himself.
Until, Dr. Stuensee had an affair with Christian's wife
and was put to death in 1772.
(ambient music)
King George III ruled Britain from 1760 until 1820.
Some historians have tried to take
a more positive look at King George,
but lots of people still know him best for going insane
during the last decade of his life.
A popular story tells that he once
tried to shake hands with a tree
thinking that is was the king of Prussia.
This probably isn't true,
but it does reflect his reputation.
Some scholars have speculated that King George
suffered from a blood disease called porphyria
which could explain reports that he
had strangely colored urine.
Others have suggested that he may have been bipolar
pointing to George's apparent manic phases
when he would write sentences that were 400 words long
and talk until he was literally foaming at the mouth.
Ew.
So if you were the hand of a mad king
what would you do in that crazy situation?
Let us know in the comments
and subscribe to our channel.
And if you want to learn about more insane
kings, queens and emperors,
read 10 Mad Royals in History at howstuffworks.com.
(ambient music)
Ultimately he had to be pacified with ri--
(groan)
Ultimately he had to be pacified with wago--
wagon rides.
Why is that hard to say?
Ultimately he had to be pacified with wag--
(laughs)
Wagon wides is what I want to say.
Over time, Christian's trusted--
Over time, Christian's--
Ya'll I can't talk.
Over time, Kristin's--
(laughs)
♫ Insane in the brain ♫